Bread Bowls Pt. 2- Chicken Bisque with Mushrooms and Spinach

Now that we have made a bread bowl, what do we put in it? Many soups and stews are perfect for your bread bowls. Any stew is perfect for this vessel, but I have my favorites.I prefer a nice creamy bisque. Here are two of my favorite fillings for my bread bowls.

The first is one I came up with the other night. My husband wanted something with chicken, and I had two loaves of bread I needed to use. I really wanted something I could put in a bread bowl. I also had mushrooms I needed to use, and I wanted to find some way to get some veggies into it, without making chicken and broccoli soup.

At its most basic, a bisque is a creamy soup. It’s French in origin, and is usually made from fish or shellfish, meat, or pureed veggies. I usually start mine all the same way, with a gravy base. Here’s how it’s done:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Slice both chicken breasts as if to butterfly them, but cut them completely in half. Salt and pepper both sides of the 4 pieces. Place chicken in the saucepan. Once brown, flip and allow the other side to brown. Remove and set aside.

Melt 4 TBSP of butter in the same saucepan, whisking any brown bits off the bottom. Add flour and whisk until combined. Cook for about a minute to remove the raw flour taste. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, beginning with 2 cups and slowly adding more until the desired consistency is reached. Bring to a boil, then, reduce to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cream and 2 TBSP butter to finish.

In a small pan, heat 2 TBSP butter until melted. Once hot, toss in mushrooms and sprinkle a TBSP of flour on top. Stir to coat and allow mushrooms to brown. Add to bisque.

Chop chicken in bite size pieces and add to bisque. Add spinach and stir gently. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes and serve. Top with chopped green onions.